Pumpkin Bread

It is FALL and I am loving it! The weather has been beautiful here in Indiana and I have started craving fall like foods! :)  First up - Pumpkin Bread!!!! I tried this recipe with honey but next time am going to try it with dates. I also think I might add more pumpkin. It did not have the pumpkin flavor that I was wanted but think that adding maybe a whole cup or whole can of pumpkin. 

The Ingredients:

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

6 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup raw honey

2 tsp pumpkin spice

1/2 tsp baking powder

handful of walnuts

2 TBSP cocoa powder

The Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400 Degrees 

2.  Sift the coconut flour and spices together, then add baking powder 

3.  In a separate bowl, mix all remaining ingredients except walnuts until well blended 

4.  Add the sifted flour and spices to the pumpkin puree 

5.  Mix well and sprinkle with chopped walnuts 

6.  Bake for 20- 30 minutes or until done 

ENJOY!!!!

Almond Biscuit

WHOOPS --- I missed my Monday Morning Mix-up. SPACED it TOTALLY!!!! :) 


I have been cooking one or two new meals a week. I have gone back through some older recipes that contain dairy, legumes or grains and I am trying to re-create them. I am hoping that I will soon master the meal makeover and hope to post pre and post pictures. For those of you who have not been following long will notice that I do have recipes that contain dairy, legumes and grains. We have consumed all 3 and you can look back at the beginning of this blog and find such recipes. 


OLD NEWS -
Last August was had some testing down with said that I was Gluten Intolerant and Dairy Sensitive. I could not get on board. Like many - GLUTEN free seemed impossible. I looked at some recipes and was OVERWHELMED. 


I was not in the right mind frame. 


In October, I started to experience pain. My body was sore and very sensitive. After our trip over Thanksgiving, Hubby and I started to re-evaluate our diet and decided that we need to get strict and see if I saw improvement. We still do eat grains, very little. It would be safe to say that we are 75% - 90% of the time we eat dairy, grain and legume free. 


When you have the right mind set, the right tools and the right sources - ANYTHING is possible! I have several great blogs that I follow and am HUGE fans of. I read articles and am continuing to educate myself in living such a lifestyle. 


You would be surprised to know that without trying hubby and I have thinned out. For me, I would not say I have lost weight but inches. I was not trying to lose anything. I would like to tone up. I do get in a 30 minute DVD workout in twice a week. I sometimes make it to the gym once and if I am lucky twice a week. I am not working out as much as I would like. I am a busy mom who forgets to exercise but I do chase after my kids and I am moving ALL day. I do not like working out at night because it is hard for me to fall asleep on a normal night and when I work out at night it is IMPOSSIBLE to fall asleep. 


I am really looking forward to the nicer weather. I love strapping the kids in the stroller and walking and running. I plan on taking them out every night for a walk and hope to soon be running! :) So hurry up warm, consistent weather! I am waiting!!! 


One thing that I have really enjoyed about cutting out dairy, grains and legumes from our diet is that I have have found replacements - COLORFUL replacements! :) I have said it before but I love how colorful our dinner plate is. Yes - there are still nights where we have cauliflower rice or cauliflower mash but we also have spaghetti with spaghetti squash or with zucchini! :) 

Roast beef, acorn squash mash and brussels (new recipe)

I have even made my boys a biscuit with Almond Flour/ Coconut Flour.

and they were a hit... 

Almond Biscuit

The Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Almond Flour ( I used 2 cups Almond 1/2 coconut)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)

2 eggs

1 TBSP Raw Honey

The Directions: 

In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda.

In a large bowl, blend together buttery spread, eggs and agave

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until a nice dough forms

Roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper to 1 1/2 inches thick

Dust dough with extra almond flour if it is sticky and/or misbehaving

Cut the dough into biscuits using a mason jar with a 3-inch wide mouth

Using a spatula, transfer biscuits to a parchment lined baking sheet

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes, until biscuits are browned on the bottom edges

Pumpkin NAAN

• 1 cup bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 TBSP Pumpkin Puree
• 1 pinch salt
• 2/3 cup water
• extra flour for rolling

The Directions:

1. Whisk together the bread flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.
2. Add the water, 2 TBSP pumpkin and stir. Then knead with your hands for a minute or two. If dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour.
3. Dough should be smooth and elastic. Divide into 4 balls.
4. Roll out each ball until it is about 5 to 6 inches in diameter.
5. Spritz a frying pan with olive oil and heat over high heat. When hot, place one of the pre-naans on it. Press down a bit with your hands or a utensil. Cook until golden.
6. Then flip and cook until golden. Repeat with remaining pieces.
7. Use a pizza cutter to cut each piece into 4 triangles.
8. Serves between 2 and 4 people.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bars

Being the week before Thanksgiving week (and I will be in Cabo Thanksgiving week!) I am going THANKSGIVING... Well - sorta! I am going to try to make something pumpkin everyday this week! 

I love cooking with pumpkin. It makes the house smell amazing!!!! 

But when mixed with cranberries --- SUPER AMAZING!!!! 

Instead of making tradition pumpkin bread, I decided to make this recipe into bars. Although they did not come out how I imagined they would - still good! Nothing is wrong with them just not what I thought! I guess I forgot to take into consideration that the pumpkin puree would rise a bit and make the bars fluffy - bread like!


Oh well - you win some. you lose some! :) 


These are not really a loss though. The bar (bread) is moist and the flavor is great! 


Here is what I did!!! :) 


Pumpkin Cranberry Bars (bread)
The Ingredients:
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Pumpkin Spice
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg


1/2 cup palm sugar
1/2 cup Applesauce
1/2 cup RAW butter (I wanted to use coconut oil - but didn't have enough)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
3 eggs
2 TBSP Almond Milk


1/4 cup cranberries
1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup oatmeal


The Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a square pan (or round) with parchment paper.


In a bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, pumpkin spice, nutmeg and cinnamon. 


In another bowl mix sugar, applesauce, pumpkin puree, almond milk, butter and eggs with a hand mixer. Mix for 2 minutes. Add the flour mixture. With hand mixer, mix for 3 or so minutes. Fold in the cranberries, walnuts and oatmeal. Pour mixture into lined pan. 

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before removing from the pan. 

Strawberry & Cream Banana Bread

I love weekends!!!! My hubby helps me make dinner, if not making an entire dish himself! He is a great cook - don't be fooled!!!! He is very creative and loves coming up with new recipes! We work well together! :) 

Sunday we were on our way to the Indianapolis Children's Museum when he declared he was going to make beef and noodles for dinner. 

 They came out great and he seasoned and flavored everything perfectly!!! Not as healthy of a meal as normal but sometimes it is good to have a splurge...

This morning I made Strawberry & Cream Banana Bread (with Chobani Strawberry yogurt)

This may be my healthiest tasting bread yet. I am not sure what to think about it - but my 3 year old LOVES it!!!! There are 2 bananas, strawberries, shredded coconut, 6 oz Chobani Strawberry yogurt, and coconut & quinoa flour!
I think that next time I will need to add more coconut oil or something... Outer crust is dry.

The Ingredients:
1 cup coconut flour
1 cup quinoa flour
1 cup palm sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1 Chobani Strawberry yogurt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 large bananas
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup shredded coconut

The Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and baking powder together.

 In another bowl, cream together the butter or margarine and sugars. Then add in the eggs, vanilla, sour cream and mashed bananas and mix thoroughly. Stir in the chopped strawberries.

Slowly add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, stirring well as you go.

Pour the mixture into your prepared loaf pan and bake on 350F for around 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the loaf pan before removing and placing on a wire cooling rack to cool fully.

Pumpkin Walnut Bread

I do not like to waste food. It drives me crazy. 

I like to carve pumpkins for many reasons. I like to make pumpkin seeds. My favorite is simple - Coconut Oil and Sea Salt. That is it! A close second Coconut Oil and Cinnamon! :)

I also like to use the pumpkin's and make them into a soup. I really do not like to waste. 

This time I made a puree and made this WONDERFUL bread! My house smells amazing!!!! :) 

Pumpkin Walnut Bread     makes 2 loaves

The Ingredients:

2 cups quinoa flour

1 1/2 cups spelt flour 

2 cups light palm sugar, packed

1/3 cups applesauce

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree, or just under two cups (I used fresh pumpkin puree)

1 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup water

1 cup chopped walnuts


1 TBSP Chai seeds


1 TBSP Flax seeds

The Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place a rack in the center of the oven.  Grease and flour two loaf pans and set aside.  

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.  

In a medium bowl, carefully whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, maple syrup and water.  

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to fold all of the ingredients together.  Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl well, finding any stray flour bits to mix in.  Fold in most of the chopped walnuts, reserving some to sprinkle on top of the batter once in the pan. 

Divide the dough between the two greased pans and sprinkle with a few walnut pieces.  Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven.  Let rest in the pans for 20 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack.  

Serve warm.  Maybe even wrap one loaf up in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for future munching.

Pumpkin Cornbread

Fall brings TWO favorite ingredients into the house. APPLES and PUMPKINS!!!!

You will notice the next few weeks maybe month I will be posting a lot of recipes that involve one or the other! We just love them both!

I had some extra pumpkin in fridge and needed to use!!!!! I used my normal corn bread recipe and subtracted 2 eggs for 2 TBSP's of pumpkin.

This was a great way to use my leftover pumpkin.

Corn bread

A simple homemade corn bread recipe!

The Ingredients:

2 cups cornmeal

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

2 cups almond milk (I used RAW Milk)

The Directions:

Mix and pour into pan. (I lightly oiled my huge pie plate with canola oil) Bake at 350* for 45 minutes.

FLOPS

_________UPDATED 9-27-2010___________________

I fixed my problem!!!!! My bread RISED!!!!

Recipe to follow!

_______ORIGINAL POST 9-25-2010_________________

I am not afraid to be open and honest with you. I have nothing to hide!!!!

I have been on a quest to find a healthy sandwich type bread recipe. I do not know if it is the recipes or the cook but I can't seem to get them to rise. I follow the directions - EXACTLY.

HELP! :)

I think this is where the PROBLEM is - just need to know how to fix it. When I add the warm water, yeast and honey - WHAT does proof look like??? How do I know if it is going to work? If it doesn't proof, is it my fault? If so, what did I do wrong? Is it the yeast? How do I know what a "right" "good" yeast is???

PLEASE HELP! :)

I would really like to find a good bread recipe that I can make for my family weekly.

Please post comments if you know what my problem is and how I can fix it.

Honey Oat Wheat Sandwich Bread

The smell of homemade bread is intoxicating for me! A fresh slice from the oven with a little butter on the top is like a taste of heaven! Especially when this bread comes from your very own oven and is made from quality ingredients, no additives, and soaked for the highest nutritional benefit! Who can ask for better? The question is not whether it will save you money to make your own bread (which I am sure it will all the same), but rather you will know exactly what is being put into your bread! It is all about quality and freshness!

As you can tell - my yeast was bad. This bread did not raise as much as I hope but the soup still tasted AMAZING!

Honey Oat Wheat Sandwich Bread

1 c. warm water (about 110*)

1/4 c. RAW honey

1 tbsp. coconut oil

1 tsp. salt

1 envelope active dry yeast

1/2 c. steel cut oats

1 c. Sprouted Grain wheat flour

1 1/2 c. Spelt flour

1 cup chopped RAW Almonds

Quick oats for dusting, if desired

The Directions:

Boil 1 cup of water. Pour in Steel Cut Oats. Set aside and let soak.

Add water, honey, oil, salt and yeast to a mixing bowl, stir to combine, set aside for 10 minutes while yeast blooms.

Add flours and soaked steep cut oats to the yeast mixture, use the paddle attachment of a mixer, turn speed to low to combine.

When flour is absorbed, take the paddle off and attach the dough hook.

Turn speed back on low, knead for 5 minutes.

If dough is too sticky, add flour 1 tbsp. at a time until it all comes together.

Alternately, if dough is too dry, add 1 tbsp. of warm water until dough comes together.

(This will depend on the heat and humidity in your kitchen)

Form dough into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, cover lightly with a damp kitchen towel and place in a non drafty, warm place for an hour.

Line a bread loaf pan with parchment or oil well.

Once dough has doubled in size, punch down, form into a log, pinching the sides down to the bottom.

Place in the loaf pan, cover with the damp towel and allow it to rise again for an hour.

Preheat oven to 400*

Dust the top of the loaf with quick oats or oat bran.

Place loaf pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 325* and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack until bread is at room temperature.

Store in an air tight bag or container for up to 5 days.

Zucchini Blueberry Bread

Saturday my family and I went to the Farmer's Market. I was the only one who made it out of the car because once we got the Farmer's Market it started to rain.

It was a very fast trip but don't worry - we got a lot of yummy things!!!! Especially BLUEBERRIES!!!!

I love blueberries.

and I love baking... I had an extra zucchini from my garden.

So I mixed the 3 together!!!

Zucchini Blueberry Bread

The Ingredients:
1/2 c. applesauce
1 - 1 1/2 cup Organic Palm Sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg white
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. shredded zucchini (I used the entire zucchini!)
1 1/2 c. sprouted whole grain flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 c. fresh blueberries

The Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare one regular loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans

In large bowl, combine oil and/or applesauce, sugars, egg and vanilla. Stir to combine well. Stir in zucchini to combine. Add flour, salt, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and fold ingredients until just barely combined. Fold in blueberries.

Place into loaf pan(s) and top with organic palm sugar.

Place in center of oven to bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 60-75 minutes for loaf pan and 35-40 minutes for miniature loaf pans.

Let cool in pans for 15 minutes and remove to let cool completely before slicing and serving.

Soaked Zucchini Bread

I am embarrassed to say another flop. I guess this time would be considered a 1/2 flop.

I found a zucchini bread recipe in my Nourishing Tradition's cookbook and just had to try it! Since finding out that I have an allergy to gluten, I am researching and coming up with new bread favorites.

This is not going to be easy!

I have now made this bread twice and 1/2 failed. I am pretty sure this bread will cook more evenly if I use a stoneware bread pan versus my regular bread pan. Since I do not have a stoneware pan, yet, I made both batches with my regular pan.

Outer dark brown and a few burnt corners. The inside not evenly cooked. Part left doughy while others cooked perfectly.

* Advise try cooking this with stoneware!

Ingredients:

3 cups freshly ground spelt, kamut, or whole wheat flour
2 cups buttermilk, kefir or yogurt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon sea salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup grade B maple syrup
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup chopped crispy pecans

Preparation:

Soak flour in buttermilk, kefir or yogurt in a warm place for 12 to 24 hours – bread will rise better if soaked for 24 hours. Those with milk allergies may use 2 cups filtered water plus 2 tablespoons whey, lemon juice or vinegar in place of undiluted buttermilk.

Blend in remaining ingredients. Pour into a well-buttered and floured loaf pan (preferably stoneware). Bake at 350 degrees for at least 1 1/2 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Note: you can substitute the zucchini for 2 ripe bananas for banana bread!

Black Raspberry Muffins

I enjoy delicious homemade muffins, every once in awhile! I enjoy making muffins with vegetables or fresh fruit. I enjoy taking a recipe and trying to change it to make a more healthy recipe.

I really love when it turns out for the BEST!!!! :)

If you were to ask my husband about some of my "oh, I made this up" or " oh, I altered this..." most of the time they are good but there are times things turn out REAL bad... Not this time!!!!

Last week, in our food share, we got some delicious black raspberries. I have been snacking on them here and there but we still had a lot left. I love taking fruit or vegetables that are almost at the point of tossing and baking with them.

The Ingredients:

4 1/4 c. flour (2 c. whole wheat, 2 1/4 c. brown rice flour)

3/4 c. RAW honey

1 tsp baking soda

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

3/4 pint black raspberries

1 1/2 c. water

3 heaping Tbsp yogurt

1 Tbsp RAW butter, melted and slightly cooled

3 Tbsp Applesauce (instead of OIL)

3 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp dried orange zest (I used lemon)

sprinkle sugar on top

The Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a nonstick muffin tin with baking spray.

In medium bowl, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine.

Set aside.

In your stand mixer add yogurt, water, butter, oil, eggs, vanilla, orange zest and sugar and blend until completely combined.

Pour wet ingredients into a large bowl (or just keep them in the stand mixer bowl).

Slowly fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients with a large wooden spoon until just combined (there will be small bits of flour still present).

Add black raspberries to dry ingredients and toss to combine.

Spoon batter into muffin tins, dividing evenly (you are filling these all the way up. Almost OVER full. Trust me, they are big, but they won't spill over if your baking powder is good.)

Sprinkle sugar over tops of each muffin (about 1 tsp per 6 muffins)

Reduce oven temp to 375 and bake until toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, about 20-23 minutes.